JCD2289AEK Jenn-Air Refrigerator - Instructions

We have a Reverse Osmosis water filter supplying the fridge, so the internal water filter only served to reduce the water pressure inside the unit. I installed the bypass plug by simply twisting and removing the internal water filter and then twisting the plug up into the same hole. Done in 5 min.
Longest part of this was clearing the top shelf to reach back there... Oh, and figuring out that this part exists and that it could help with the problems we were having with the unit. The water filter is relatively new, less than six months, but it still contributed to the problem enough to cause the failure.
[Thank you Partselect.com for having this web database set up that gets EXACTLY the right part!].

Now about the hollow cubes: Do a web search and you'll find a lot of discussion about it. This is specific to the Whirlpool (Maytag, and others) newer style front to back icemakers that create "half moon" shaped icecubes. For a Shop Manual to a web search for 4316835.pdf for this series.
No doubt my old unit's icemaker solenoid valve on the back isn't passing as much pressure as it did new, but by itself it isn't fatal just yet. You can tell if you are vulnerable to this if the water spigot on the front only delivers a very slow trickle of water; if it takes a l o n g t i m e to fill a glass.

But here is the rest of the story: There is a fundamental design flaw in the way the icemaker unit was created that makes it malfuntion if the water pressure is too low - they chose to put the thermocouple (TC) that senses the temperature of the freezing cube on the opposite end (front) of the water tray from the water fill tube which fills from the rear. This was probably a manufacturing trade off for simplicity of assembly and it saved them half a cent's worth of copper wiring and a couple of screws. And maybe a safty concern about wiring under an open water channel, but that is a lousy excuse; there are other solutions, and the power "harness" goes right by there within a couple of inches anyway...

There are a number of reasons for low pressure:
- Bad supply inlet valve, or not open all the way, crimped tubing
- Bad Frige icemaker solenoid valve
- Clogged internal water filter (even just a little)
- Frozen ice plug in the fill tube, in the very back top of the unit against the back (use a hair dryer to defrost)
- Etc. Do some more web research for more details.
Of course the icemaker timers do fail as well, so this discussion assumes the icemaker is still functioning as "normally" as it can, given its design limitations.

The interaction with water pressure (design flaw!) is this: if the unit doesn't get enough water due to low pressure, then the final cube position to fill doesn't get any water in it (the front one by the motor). This is the one that the TC is next to as well, so it cools of really quickly and the TC thinks the tray is completely frozen, when in fact it isn't. The TC fires the cycling motor which turns on the heater and then spins the ejector shaft which has tabs that push the half moon shaped cubes around and out. However, since the cubes weren't fully frozen, only their outer shell gets pushed out - the water in the middle drains out leaving a hollow cube set. That liquid water hits the cold ejector bars and some of it immediately freezes, making little stalactite fingers that catch on the tabs and side of the tray, thus jamming the ejector shaft and pausing the cycle in place indefinitely.
The net is that you get a few hollow cubes and then no more ice until you reach in and crack off the ice fingers so shaft tabs can pass and the motor can finsh the cycle and properly stop in its home position. You can also tell by checking whether the front cube location has water in it just after it fills by reaching around and dipping your finger in it. If it comes up dry, then you have this problem.
So, in my case, putting the bypass plug in increased my flow t

Philips head screwdriver and ten minutes was all it took! I removed the two screws that hold the icemaker assembly in place, then pulled it out a little and disconnected the electrical plug freeing the icemaker assembly. Then I snapped the external parts off my old icemaker assembly and snapped them on the new icemaker assembly. Installing the new icemaker assembly was just as fast and easy. I snapped the electrical plug into the new icemaker assembly, then screwed in the two screws. It was making ice shortly thereafter. Glob free ice! I'm glad I didn't call a repairman. I probably saved a hundred bucks. A ten year old could accomplish this simple and easy task. No wonder the Maytag repairman has time on his hands.

After moving the refrigerator away from the wall I removed the cover on the lower back of the unit by removing the screws that held it in place. The condenser fan was not turning and there was heat build up in the area causing the refrigerator to not work properly creating elevated temperatures in both the freezer and regrigerator. Removal of three torx screws from the original motor was all it took to get the motor free. By turining it and working the fan blade around the mounting bracket I had the motor out in just a few minutes. Replacing the new motor was just as easy to reinstall. The fan was removed from the old motor and placed on the new for installation. The original motor was wired to accept a connector from the wiring harness of the refrigerator. I simply cut the connector off the wiring harness and stripped the insulation from the wires which easily allowed me to connet the wires of the motor and harness with two wire nuts. Three self tapping screws were used to hold the motor in place replacing the torx screws. Installed I plugged the unit in and immediately the fan started spinning as the unit came to life. Cleaned and replaced the cover over the back and slid back into its spot. Running as good as it did when it was new. Easy job to take care of.

Jenn-air jcd-2389gtw refridgerator/freezer side by side ice door would not open to dispense ice from the ice dispensor I did an online order for the repair kit #ps2003478 (115v) ice dispenser solenoid and door kit to fix the problem with the ice door not opening. As I had deduced, the “solenoid” had gone bad, and the kit held most all the items required to make the repair. The only additional item the kit needs to have is the “fountain door return spring”. Be careful not to loose the spring when disassembling the unit. You might want to order an additional spring just in case you loose or break the original. The instruction sheet was pretty thorough, except for being small and the pictures hard to see. My refrigerator/freezer has decorative panels that had to be removed before I was actually able to get the escutcheon off of the unit, and this configuration wasn’t addressed in the instructions. After figuring out that I had to remove all the trim from the door of the freezer before I could start the repair, the job wasn’t that difficult, but you have to have patience and take your time to make sure you don’t damage the electrical components of the ice dispenser. Make sure you note the position and location of the fountain door return spring before you remove the ice door!! This is important so that you can get the correct “tension” when reinstalling the mechanism. If there isn’t enough tension on the spring, the door will not seal properly, and the dispenser will freeze up. Also, when it comes time to disconnect the “electrical edge connector” from the control panel, be sure to make note of it’s position. It isn’t difficult to pull off, but could be easily broken if you are not careful. The rest of the repair and installation is straight forward and simple. Just take your time and it goes back together pretty easily. Tools you will need are; needle nose pliers, phillips screwdriver with a small and medium bit, and a “torx” tool set to remove the torx screws from the escutcheon and fountain bracket.

I was about to waste $1000 on buying a Refrigerator. Took 1 mins to search on google "Refrigerator doesn't work". Found a video on youtube, showed a step and step video to solve my problem. Order the part $50 and it took me less then 5 mins to install it. =)

Defrost circuit was inside the control assembly inside the refrigerator so I snapped the two release clamps located to the rear of the assembly (lights and controls). Slid the whole assembly cover off and removed the lightbulbs and two screws right above them. In from of that is the temp switches and directional slider, removed the two screws holding that. With the four screws out, removed whole assembly and laid it dowm on the first shelf, defrost circuit is at the back right, easy change out but take note which way the 4 prong plug fits into the circuit board. Refrigerator was back to normal in about 6 hours.

The new Ice Maker Assembly arived in less than 24 hours. I was amazed that it came so fast.

I had already removed the old ice maker in order to get the modle number.

I just took two parts off of the old ice maker and quickly snapped them into place on the new ice maker. Then attached it to the refrigerator in less than 10 minutes. With in a few hours I had ice again !!!!!

I would definatly use partselect.com again.

I noticed that the thin plastic flap was missing. I squeezed the housing, unsnapped and pulled. INstalling the new part was just the reverse. No more frozen vegetables.

I removed the two screws that hold the element in place. I then unscrewed the four remaining screws with a star screwdriver and pulled the element out and disconnected the wire. I removed the part containing the solenoid, spring loaded holder and the plastic closer. I did not need to replace the solenoid or the spring loading device only the round circular piece that opens and closes the ice door. I just snapped it into the spring loaded part and replaced everything as I had removed it. It was very simple. Your need the star screwdriver though for removing the screws.

Pull out fridge and unplug
Remove drip tray from dispenseer
Unscrew face plate (star bit) 2 screws
Carefully disconnect wire strap from faceplate controls
Unscrew dispenser from chute - 3 screws and one is hddend next to actuator.
Carefully disconnect another wire strap to remove unit.
Remove actuator pad
Remove limit switch (i small philips screw)
Replace switch & pad
Re-assemble

Neither the actuator pad nor the limit switch appeared broken or worn but it appears to have solved the problem.

Not a terribly complicaed repair but you need to take care not to damage anything as you take apart. More work than just changing a filter or bulb.

removed ice and water dispenser to get to control board and removed two screws and electrical plug and two other wires and remove c/b then replaced c/b and all wiring and screws put it back togather in appro. 25 to30 mins.

Defrosted coils with hair drier and after the freezer was turned back on the freezer cooled to 0 Deg. within 4 hours but coils collocted ice. Checked coil with ohmmeter OK replaced Defrost Assy. Repair was very easy and new replacment unit is sealed and the original is an open curcuit board. thanks for allowing me to share this with you!

This is the 2nd time I replaced the ADC, the freezer condenser was frosting up again and wouldn't keep the freezer or refrig cold. 1st part only lasted 6-months. The simple fact is that the ADC used in the Maytag as well as others is under designed; I purchased 2-this time, 1's a spare, and you know it going to need to be replaced again. Sadly I'm stuck with this Refrigerator for at least 2-years before I buy another, it's only 5-years old. From my experience (with other Maytag products I've purchased recently) I'd never buy another Maytag product, ever! Since Whirlpool bought Maytag, I'm taking Whirlpool off my list too. Thanks Partselect for such a speedy delivery on the part everything back to normal, at least for now, wished I knew how long this ADC will last?

Simple parts replacement. The temp control was a bit tricky as it involved replicating the bends of the tiny tubing for the sensor coil, but everything is so modular that it was not that difficult.

Freezer defrosted while doing the control repairs, it had a lot of ice stuck in the evaporator because the defrost function was not working.

The worst part of all this was moving the food and making sure it did not spoil.

I unplugged the fridge. Loosened the 2 top screws on the ice maker and removed the lower screw. I disconnected the wiring harness and removed the Ice maker. I removed the plastic timer cover in front. I then loosened the screws on the face of the ice maker and removed the broken ice stripper and replaced it with a new one. Re-tightened the screws on the face, installed the timer cover, plugged in the wiring harness, re-attached the ice maker. Plugged the fridge back in and walla, it was making ice in 30 minutes!